<t /><p class="poetry">A wise person&#8217;s good sense protects him,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">but a fool&#8217;s lack of sense leaves him vulnerable.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">For the wise man, like<n id="1" /> the fool, will not be remembered for very long,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">because<n id="3" /> in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">Alas,<n id="5" /> the wise man dies &#8211; just like<n id="6" /> the fool!p>

<p class="poetry">The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,p> <p class="poetry">but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.<n id="1" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">It is better for a person to receive<n id="1" /> a rebuke from those who are wise<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">than to listen to the song<n id="3" /> of fools.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Surely oppression<n id="1" /> can turn a wise person into a fool;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">likewise,<n id="3" /> a bribe corrupts<n id="4" /> the heart.<n id="5" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Wisdom gives a wise person more protection<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">than ten rulers in a city.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">The words of the wise are heard in quiet,p> <p class="poetry">more than the shouting of a ruler is heard<n id="1" /> among fools.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">The words of a wise person<n id="1" /> win him<n id="2" /> favor,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">but the words<n id="4" /> of a fool are self-destructive.<n id="5" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish kingp> <p class="poetry">who no longer knows how to receive advice.p>

<p class="poetry">So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool?<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">And what advantage<n id="2" /> does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive?<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Whoever obeys his<n id="1" /> command will not experience harm,p> <p class="poetry">and a wise person<n id="2" /> knows the proper time<n id="3" /> and procedure.p>

<p class="poetry">The words of the sages are like prods,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and the collected sayings are like firmly fixed nails;p> <p class="poetry">they are given by one shepherd.p>

<p class="poetry">The wise man can see where he is going,<n id="1" /> but the fool walks in darkness.p> <p class="poetry">Yet I also realized that the same fate<n id="2" /> happens to them both.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool?p> <p class="poetry">Yet<n id="1" /> he will be master over all the fruit of<n id="2" /> my labor<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">for which I worked so wisely<n id="4" /> on earth!<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">This also is futile!p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Who is<n id="1" /> a<n id="2" /> wise person? Who knows the solution<n id="3" /> to a problem?<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">A person&#8217;s wisdom brightens his appearance,<n id="5" /> and softens<n id="6" /> his harsh countenance.<n id="7" />p>

<p class="poetry">However, a poor but wise man lived in the city,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and he could have delivered<n id="2" /> the city by his wisdom,p> <p class="poetry">but no one listened<n id="3" /> to that poor man.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Not only was the Teacher wise,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">but he also taught knowledge to the people;p> <p class="poetry">he carefully evaluated<n id="2" /> and arranged<n id="3" /> many proverbs.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">So I reflected on all this,<n id="1" /> attempting to clear<n id="2" /> it all up.p> <p class="poetry">I concluded that<n id="3" /> the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God;p> <p class="poetry">whether a person will be loved or hated<n id="4" /> &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">no one knows what lies ahead.<n id="5" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Again,<n id="1" /> I observed this on the earth:<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the race is not always<n id="3" /> won by the swiftest,p> <p class="poetry">the battle is not always won by the strongest;p> <p class="poetry">prosperity<n id="4" /> does not always belong to those who are the wisest,p> <p class="poetry">wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning,p> <p class="poetry">nor does success<n id="5" /> always come to those with the most knowledge &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">for time and chance may overcome<n id="6" /> them all.p>

<p class="poetry">then I discerned all that God has done:<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">No one really comprehends what happens<n id="2" /> on earth.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Despite all human<n id="4" /> efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp<n id="5" /> it.<n id="6" />p> <p class="poetry">Even if<n id="7" /> a wise person claimed<n id="8" /> that he understood,p> <p class="poetry">he would not really comprehend<n id="9" /> it.<n id="10" />p>